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HS football capsules: Atherton through Desales

LCJ
11:11 a.m. EDT August 19, 2014

Butler quarterback William Johnson prepares to throw as Butler plays Manual at Manual.
Oct. 03, 2013(Photo: David R. Lutman/Special to The Courier-Journal, David R. Lutman/Special to The Courier-Journal)

Player to watch: TE-DE Ben Allgeier (Sr.). "Ben is dedicated to the program and one of the best coachable kids I've had," Walker said. "He has nice size (6-3, 215) and has gotten faster and stronger. He's a complete player."

Outlook: "With our numbers (51 players on roster) and a stronger offseason program, we should be a little better team than last year," Walker said. "With a good number of freshmen (27), we will play on three levels: freshman, JV and varsity. This will be Allgeier's and Andres' fourth year on the varsity and Seaborne's third season."

— Bob White

Date

Opponent

Date

Opponent

8/22

at Lynn Camp

9/26

*at Collins

8/29

at KCD

10/2

*WAGGENER

9/5

SHAWNEE

10/10

*at Spencer County

9/12

at Gallatin County

10/17

*NORTH OLDHAM

9/19

at Eminence

10/31

IROQUOIS

*-District game.

BALLARD (5-6)

Coach: Mike Jackson (seventh season, 41-31).

Starters back: Offense 4, defense 4.

Class: 6-A, District 5.

Player to watch: Senior Sean Hammonds (6-3, 235) is a versatile athlete who will play tight end on offense and tackle, end and linebacker on defense. He led the Bruins with 12 tackles for loss last season and has committed to Ball State. "He's big, but he's very, very quick off the ball," Jackson said.

Outlook: Jackson has scrapped the spread offense for the wing-T, hoping to take better advantage of his personnel. "We have to give our little guys up front a chance," he said. "I think we'll be able to block better with some deception and fakes and double-teams." Washington, a transfer from Butler, is expected to start at quarterback. Jackson said Daniels is a "tough, hard-nosed" runner who also is the team's best blocker in the backfield. Former Doss head coach LaKunta Farmer has joined the staff as defensive coordinator.

— Jason Frakes

Date

Opponent

Date

Opponent

8/22

at St. Xavier

9/26

at Male

8/29

JEFFERSONTOWN

10/10

*at Eastern

9/5

COLLINS

10/17

*FERN CREEK

9/12

at Western

10/24

*at Oldham County

9/19

MANUAL

10/31

at Bryan Station

*-District game.

BULLITT CENTRAL (4-7)

Coach: Dan Leasor (eighth season, 39-39).

Starters back: Offense 8, defense 6.

Class: 5-A, District 4.

Player to watch: Senior running back Trevor Carnell rushed for 2,096 yards and 21 touchdowns, impressing his coach. "He's the real deal," said Leasor, adding that Carnell ranks up there with all the kids he's coached — even the ones at Pleasure Ridge Park in the 1990s. "He could start for those teams," he said. "That's how good he is."

Outlook: Coming off a 4-7 campaign, Leasor sees brighter days ahead because of the experience and depth in the skill positions. Helping leverage that will be new offensive coordinator Tye Lawson, who led Male's high-powered offense to the 6-A semifinals last season. "I love what we're doing offensively because it fits our kids," Leasor said. One area for improvement lies in finishing strong. Last year the Cougars lost two games in which they led late.

— Steve Bittenbender

Date

Opponent

Date

Opponent

8/29

at Fairdale

10/3

*at North Bullitt

9/5

SOUTHERN

10/10

*BULLITT EAST

9/12

at Valley

10/17

*at Shelby County

9/20

a-Calloway County

10/24

at Simon Kenton

9/26

ELIZABETHTOWN

10/31

SOUTH OLDHAM

*-District game; a-at McCracken County.

BULLITT EAST (11-2)

Coach: Darrell Vincent (fourth season, 19-16).

Starters back: Offense 5, defense 8.

Class: 5-A, District 4.

Player to watch: Senior quarterback Pierce Kelly is a two-year starter. The 6-1 200-pounder ran for 1,093 yards, threw for 867 and accounted for 30 touchdowns last year. "He's an aggressive runner who likes to keep the ball," Vincent said. "If he does decide to keep the ball, he's hard to get on the ground."

Outlook: While the Chargers have some experience in Kelly, Hartley and Colvin — the latter a 1,000-yard rusher as well — Vincent's team must replace some key parts from last year. "When you graduate your whole offensive line, you have work to do," he said. Hartley had 80 tackles, two interceptions and two fumble recoveries (one returned for a score) and is the "quarterback on defense," according to Vincent. Flood, who had 59 tackles and five sacks, will anchor the line.

— Steve Bittenbender

Date

Opponent

Date

Opponent

8/22

a-Boyle County

9/26

at Oldham County

8/29

at Nelson County

10/10

*at Bullitt Central

9/5

WAGGENER

10/17

*NORTH BULLITT

9/12

at Spencer County

10/24

*SHELBY COUNTY

9/19

CENTRAL HARDIN

10/30

FAIRDALE

*-District game; a-at Lincoln County.

BUTLER (11-3)

Coach: Gary Wheeler (second season).

Starters back: Offense 4, defense 5.

Class: 6-A, District 3.

Player to watch: Senior William Johnson (6-3, 205) took over at quarterback last season and helped lead the Bears to the state semifinals, completing 52.7 percent of his passes (107 of 203) for 1,768 yards and 21 touchdowns. "He did great for a kid who had never played quarterback before," Wheeler said. "If you watch film from our (preseason) scrimmage last year and our last game of the year, he made great strides. … He's been a great leader so far this summer."

Outlook: The Bears lost some talented skill players to graduation in running backs Joe Brown and Joe Hines and receiver Ta'Vaughn Morton. Wheeler hopes Bethel (the more elusive runner) and Blanks (a powerful runner) will pick up the slack in the backfield. There's plenty of experience on the offensive line and at linebacker, but "we'll have a whole new group of guys in our secondary," Wheeler said. The coach said two freshmen — wide receiver Frank Begley and safety Desmond Miller — could play significant roles.

— Jason Frakes

Date

Opponent

Date

Opponent

8/22

at Fern Creek

10/2

MANUAL

8/29

MALE

10/10

*SOUTHERN

9/5

at Western

10/17

*at PRP

9/19

DOSS

10/24

*at Seneca

9/26

at Eastern

10/31

VALLEY

*-District game.

CENTRAL (9-4)

Coach: Ty Scroggins (eighth season, 72-29).

Starters back: Offense 2, defense 2.

Class: 3-A, District 3.

Players to watch: Junior Myron Norfleet (5-9, 180) and sophomore James Simpson (6-1, 165) both saw time as the starting quarterback last season and are competing for the job again. "Myron sees the field and is more calm back there," Scroggins said. "James is an athletic quarterback. It takes him a little while to get going, but once he's able to his running ability is a little better. Myron's arm is a lot better, so it's a tossup."

Outlook: Central's string of state championships was snapped at three last year, and there are a lot of new faces after the graduation of 26 seniors. Beason, who rushed for 199 yards as a sophomore but missed all of last season, could emerge as the Yellowjackets' top threat in the backfield. Longtime defensive stalwarts Donald Styles, Phillip Francis and Derquione Mobley are gone, meaning it's time for others to shine. "There are not any household names here at Central anymore," Scroggins said. "We graduated all those guys. But now it's an opportunity for these kids to make names for themselves. … Give us three weeks and people will be talking about what we're doing over here. We'll be right in the hunt come 3-A (playoffs)."

— Jason Frakes

Date

Opponent

Date

Opponent

8/22

MANUAL

9/26

at St. Xavier

8/29

LAFAYETTE

10/10

*ELIZABETHTOWN

9/5

EASTERN

10/17

*at Henry County

9/12

at Doss

10/24

*LARUE COUNTY

9/19

WESTERN

10/31

at PRP

*-District game.

CHRISTIAN ACADEMY (10-2)

Coach: Stefan LeFors (fourth season, 26-11).

Starters back: Offense 4, defense 3.

Class: 2-A, District 4.

Player to watch: RB Nick Payne (Sr.). After running for 1,200 yards as a sophomore in 2012, Payne carried 190 times for 800 yards and 11 TDs in 2013. "Nick has great vision and it's hard to get a solid hit on him," LeFors said. "This will be his third year to start for us."

Outlook: The Centurions graduated six players from a good group of receivers, but Lewellyn caught nine passes for 129 yards and 2 TDs. His brother, Chad, was a standout last year and now is at the U.S. Naval Academy. Young must step in at quarterback for Nathan Christmas, who passed for 800 yards and 20 TDs in 2013. "Paulsen and Lagestee are special kids," LeFors said. "Young is smart, has a good arm and understands what we need to do. He's ready to go."

— Bob White

Date

Opponent

Date

Opponent

8/22

at Lex. Christian

9/26

*SHAWNEE

8/29

at Eastern

10/3

*BARDSTOWN

9/5

NORTH OLDHAM

10/10

*at Fort Knox

9/12

*THOMAS NELSON

10/17

*at DeSales

9/19

*at Washington Co.

10/31

MALE

*-District game.

COLLINS (13-2)

Coach: Jerry Lucas (fifth season, 46-11).

Starters back: Offense 3, defense 3.

Class: 4-A, District 3.

Player to watch: Running back/linebacker Antuan "Bushy" Wells (Sr.). "I like his toughness, speed and quickness," Lucas said. "He was our second-leading tackler last year. He's an outstanding leader. It's nice to see the younger kids watch how Bushy handles himself on the field. Two years ago he played running back but suffered an ACL injury, so he only played defense last year."

Outlook: The Titans lost 12 seniors, eight now playing college ball, but have 23 players who saw action in their 37-34 win over Highlands in the 2013 state final. Becherer, who threw the winning TD pass against Highlands, takes over at quarterback. "We lost a lot, but we have a lot of kids back who played in the final last year," Lucas said. "Our strength will be in our offensive and defensive lines. The key for us is building depth. We like to play 22 players."

— Bob White

Date

Opponent

Date

Opponent

8/22

at Simon Kenton

10/3

*SPENCER COUNTY

8/29

SOUTH OLDHAM

10/10

CENTRAL HARDIN

9/5

at Ballard

10/17

*at Waggener

9/12

SHELBY COUNTY

10/24

*at North Oldham

9/26

*ATHERTON

10/31

at Anderson County

*-District game.

DeSALES (14-1)

Coach: Harold Davis (third season, 23-6).

Starters back: Offense 4, defense 3.

Class: 2-A, District 4.

Player to watch: RB-DE Bryant Pirtle (Sr.). Before the 2013 season, Pirtle (6-3, 205) was moved from outside linebacker to defensive end. He went on to lead the state with 22½ sacks and help the Colts win the 2-A title. On offense he could use his size, speed and quickness to give DeSales a solid power back. He has committed to play for Western Kentucky University.

Outlook: The Colts graduated 22 seniors but have 23 players who saw action last season. "We could be a good team if we get some leadership," Davis said. "We have talent, but we must come together and play as a team. If we do, we hope to contend for the district title."